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John Garcia
John Garcia is a vocalist, while best known for his tenure in the desert rock band Kyuss, has also contributed his voice to several other bands in the stoner rock and metal genres. Garcia's distinctive charismatic voice has placed him as one of the key players in the desert rock scene. Active since 1987 and touring all over the world with various bands in that time, Garcia has contributed his vocals on thirteen albums as of 2019, including three solo albums under his own name. Garcia has also contributed guest vocals to several other bands over a career spanning 30+ years. Biography Kyuss (1987 - 1995) *''For further details, feel free to view the page on Kyuss.'' The band formed in 1987 jamming under the name Katzenjammer (German archaic slangword for "Hangover") before eventually deciding upon Sons of Kyuss. Brant Bjork selected the name from the undead monster found in the 1st edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game book Fiend Folio. In 1989 the band recorded their eponymous debut EP entitled Sons of Kyuss, which was their only release to feature Chris Cockrell on bass. Nick Oliveri would take over the bass role that same year and the band's name would be shortened to Kyuss. Kyuss would garner a reputation early on for their performance at generator parties, before signing to independent label Dali in 1991 and releasing their debut album Wretch that September. In 1992, the band, along with new producer Chris Goss, began work on their next album Blues for the Red Sun. Goss understood the band, and was able to accurately capture their live sound in the studio. Released on 30 June that year, the album was critically hailed and is today widely regarded as a pioneering stoner rock record. By the time of the release party, Oliveri was fired and replaced by Scott Reeder, who had been approached about joining Kyuss five-to-six months earlier during a West Coast tour with The Obsessed, making his debut at the release party for the album. The band did a full tour of the United States in support of the album and toured the US again in 1993. By the end of 1993, they were invited to open nine dates for Metallica touring Australia. The band then soon found themselves signed with major label Elektra Records after Dali Records hit financial problems and was bought by Elektra. On 28 June 1994, they would release their first major label album, self-titled Kyuss. Originally intended to be titled Pools Of Mercury, the album commonly came to be known among fans as Welcome to Sky Valley. Between record company and bandmember shuffling it would take a whole year for the album recorded in 1993 to be released. Once again produced by Chris Goss, Welcome to Sky Valley would attain critical acclaim and is cited as an important record in the makings of stoner rock. However tensions between founding members Brant Bjork and Josh Homme would lead the former to leave the band, with Alfredo Hernández (Yawning Man, Across The River) replacing him. On 11 July 1995, they released their fourth and final album ...And the Circus Leaves Town with the band touring Europe twice along with the United States in 1995 to support it. A video was made for "One Inch Man", the album's only official single. The album was not as successful commercially as Sky Valley, receiving many lukewarm reviews. Within 3 months of the release, Kyuss decided to disband sometime in October 1995, with their last known show being on 9 September 1995 at Festa dell'Unità in Reggio nell'Emilia, Italy. Garcia and Homme were the only two members to remain through the band's entire tenure. In December 1997 via Man's Ruin Records, a transitional split EP (Kyuss/Queens of The Stone Age) was released, featuring three songs by Kyuss ("Into the Void" -a Black Sabbath cover-, "Fatso Forgotso" and "Flip the Phase") and three by Queens of the Stone Age ("If Only Everything", "Born to Hula" and "Spiders & Vinegaroons"). Notably Garcia would appear as an onstage guest with Queens of the Stone Age on 20 December 2005 at the Wiltern LG Theatre in Los Angeles, the last date of the Lullabies to Paralyze tour. Garcia would appear for the encore and perform "Thumb", "Hurricane" and "Supa Scoop and Mighty Scoop".Setlist.fmMTV Slo Burn (1996 - 1997, 2017) *''For further details, feel free to view the page on Slo Burn.'' Slo Burn were formed in 1996 in Palm Desert, California by John Garcia (vocals) in the months after the disbandment of Kyuss. The rest of the band included Chris Hale (guitar), Damon Garrison (bass) and Brady Houghton (drums). The band's first release was a five track demo, released in 1996. Their second release came in April 1997 in the form of the Amusing The Amazing EP which was put out by Malicious Vinyl.Discogs Slo Burn - Amusing the Amazing, accessed July 5th 2015 Slo Burn shared a similar musical style to Kyuss, not least because of Garcia's vocal performance, but also the production efforts of Chris Goss, who not only worked on Amusing The Amazing but also several of Kyuss' releases. Slo Burn made appearances at festivals during their short run, including Dynamo FestivalYoutube SLO BURN Live at Dynamo Festival 1997, accessed July 5th 2015 and touring with Ozzfest, both in 1997.Ozzfest History, accessed 5th July 2015 The band decided to split up in September 1997. In interviews since the disbandment of Slo Burn, Garcia has stated that the band had intended to record a full length album had they not split up. Slo Burn would be announced in 2016 as one of the headliners for DesertFest London, performing on 28 April at The Electric Ballroom. The band would incorporate songs from Amusing The Amazing along with new songs. Following their appearance at Desertfest, Slo Burn would tour Europe that June, making notable appearances at Freak Valley Festival and Hellfest, closing out the year in the United States with an appearance at Psycho Las Vegas.Last.fm The band intended to record a debut album in light of the reunion but nothing has come as of yet. Unida (1998 - 2004, 2012 - 2014) *''For further details, feel free to view the page on Unida.'' Unida was founded sometime in 1998 by Arthur Seay, Miguel Cancino, Dave Dinsmore and John Garcia, the latter joining in the wake of the dissolution of Slo Burn. The band would tour Europe at some point in 1998. Dinsmore's tenure as the bassist would be short-lived though he would record four tracks with the band in August 1998 and then an album's worth of material in January 1999. Eddie Plascencia would serve as the band's bassist for North American tours and shows in that time. Unida would work with MeteorCity Records in releasing a split with Dozer on 20 April 1999 entitled The Best Of Wayne-Gro / Coming Down The Mountain. Recruiting former Kyuss bassist Scott Reeder after a hiatus from music, Unida would tour Europe with Nebula that May, including an appearance at Dynamo Open Air in The Netherlands. Unida would then sign with Man's Ruin Records to release their first studio album Coping With The Urban Coyote on 16 November 1999. The band toured Europe in support of the album, performing with the likes of Orange Goblin. In 2000 Unida would sign with Rick Rubin's label American Recordings and begin work on a studio album set for a 2001 release. Due to Rick Rubin having a falling out with Sony, American Recordings would be absorbed by Island/Def Jam, one of many reasons the album's status was put in limbo, along with Unida being unhappy with the mixes of the then-known El Coyote, later released independently as For The Working Man among other titles. Reeder would leave the group and following a series of fill-in bassists for tours Unida would disband in 2004. Unida (Seay, Cancino, Garcia and Plascencia) would reunite in 2008 for at least two shows that Spring: 21 February 2008 at Safari Sam's in Hollywood and 7 March 2008 at The Viper Room in West Hollywood. Unida would reunite again in 2012, this time with Arthur Seay's nephew Owen on bass, aged 20 at the time of joining. The band's first show with this lineup was on 10 August 2012 at The Hood Bar & Pizza in Palm Desert, California. 2013 would see Unida headline DesertFest Berlin and DesertFest London along with a tour of New Zealand and Australia. A follow-up tour of Europe entitled The Return of The Urban Coyote would happen the next year, including appearances at Graspop Metal Meeting and Hellfest among other shows. The band also intended to put out a proper physical release of For The Working Man but due to the legal issues surrounding the album the album remains unreleased, with the members of Unida concentrating on other projects. Hermano (1998 - 2008, 2016) *''For further details, feel free to view the page on Hermano.'' Hermano was formed in the summer of 1998 by Dandy Brown as a new side project while residing in Hamilton, Ohio at the time (Though he would move to California by the time the band started) with the intent of working with some of his favorite musicians. The first member Brown would recruit would be Steve Earle of The Afghan Whigs, knowing him as far back as 1991. When Earle left that band he began jamming with Dandy. Around the same time, Brown would produce Supafuzz's first album and approach David Angstrom and John Garcia about participating, to whom which both agreed to join. Lastly, Brown would approach Mike Callahan at a Disengage concert about joining to which the five-piece lineup was complete.Hermano via Wayback Machine (Story Page circa 2002) Hermano would release three studio albums in their initial run: ...Only A Suggestion (9 June 2002, Tee Pee Records), Dare I Say... (15 February 2004, Suburban Records) and ...Into The Exam Room (19 October 2007, Suburban Records). All three releases garnered positive reviews and the band toured Europe frequently between 2002 and 2007. The band would go on hiatus in 2008 but would perform a one-time reunion set at Hellfest in Clisson, France on 18 June 2016. Garcia Plays Kyuss, Kyuss Lives! and Vista Chino (2010 - 2014) *''For further details, feel free to view the page on Vista Chino.'' After a couple years away from performing live music, in late 2009 it would be announced that John Garcia would be touring under the moniker Garcia Plays Kyuss (Or GPK as it's also abbreviated as.). The first announced date would be at Roadburn Festival on 16 April 2010Blabbermouth, followed by an announced European tour from 28 May to 11 June.The Bad Penny Blog Garcia would recruit guitarist Bruno Fevery (Arsenal) along with bassist Jacques de Haard and drummer Rob Snijders, formerly of Celestial Season and at the time playing in Agua de Annique.The Obelisk The tour would culminate in an appearance at Hellfest, which featured Nick Oliveri and Brant Bjork performing onstage with Garcia, reuniting 3/4 of the original Kyuss lineup.Blabbermouth Oliveri and Bjork would guest on several dates of the Garcia Plays Kyuss tour. Notably Garcia was working on a solo album back then entitled Garcia Vs. Garcia, but ultimately it would be put aside for other projects. Garcia Plays Kyuss would continue touring Europe that July, including festival appearances at Stoned From The Underground, Rockwave and Pukkelpop before a short string of shows in October, the last date with this tour at Westend Indoor Festival on 30 and 31 October.Setlist.fmSetlist.fm Behind the scenes Garcia, Oliveri and Bjork were in talks on expanding on the sporadic "reunion" and on 2 November 2010, officially announced Kyuss Lives!, announcing a string of European dates in March and April.Blabbermouth Bruno Fevery would be announced as the guitarist as Josh Homme showed no interest in participating in the project though the band openly stated that there "is no Kyuss without Josh Homme".issue of Rock-A-Rolla However according to an interview via Antiquiet conducted with Nick Oliveri he stated that Homme wasn't even asked. Kyuss Lives! followed with tours of Australia and New Zealand in May. They toured Europe in June 2011 and announced a North and South America tour for late Summer and Fall, 2011, with Scott Reeder playing many dates outside of the US (This was while Nick Oliveri was dealing with personal legal issues at the time). The tour wrapped up on New Year's Eve 2011 at Cherry Cola's Rock 'n' Rolla Cabaret and Lounge, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Kyuss Lives! expressed interest to record a new studio album for a summer 2012 release.VerdamnisAccessed 12th August 2016Blabbermouth In March 2012 it was revealed that Josh Homme (Eventually with Scott Reeder joining in on the lawsuit) had filed a federal lawsuit against John Garcia and Brant Bjork alleging "trademark infringement and consumer fraud" over the use of the Kyuss name. Nick Oliveri left Kyuss later that month, stating "managerial issues" and was replaced by Billy Cordell. Ultimately the court would rule in favor of Homme and Reeder, opting the band to change their name to Vista Chino. In November 2012, Nick Oliveri announced that he would be rejoining Kyuss Lives!. Kyuss Lives! played their final performances under that name at the Soundwave Festivals in 2013. However, Mike Dean played bass on all the 2013 Soundwave shows and sidewaves. Despite being in the recording sessions for Vista Chino's album, Oliveri had not been seen to actively participate with the band at that point, having not appeared in recent photoshoots or toured with the band. From 2012 - 2013 Mike Dean had been acting as the band's touring and session bassist, having played one track on the band's album, Peace, which was released on 3 September 2013. In August 2013, singer John Garcia said that Vista Chino "is a three-piece band with himself, Brant drummer and Bruno guitarist. It always will be." but also described Oliveri as "an honorary band member". Ultimately Vista Chino would disband due to conflicts between Garcia and Bjork. Ultimately the two would reconcile and imply a new album but choose to focus on their respective solo careers. Other Band Contributions To be added. Solo Career (2014 - Present) Self-Titled Record (2014 - 2016) On 12 February 2014 it would be announced that John Garcia had signed a solo record deal with Napalm Records and had begun work on his first solo album, working with Harper Hug and Trevor Whatever.Blabbermouth Further details would surface that many of his past fellow musicians would contribute to the record such as Damon Garrison (Slo Burn), Chris Hale (Slo Burn), Nick Oliveri (Kyuss, Vista Chino), Dandy Brown (Hermano), David Angstrom (Hermano), Gary Arce (Yawning Man) and Danko Jones. In April it would be announced that Robby Krieger (The Doors) would be contributing to the solo debut as a guest.Blabbermouth John Garcia would be released on 1 August 2014 to positive reviews from the likes of BlabbermouthBlabbermouth and The SludgelordThe Sludgelord among others. A music video for "My Mind" would be released on 15 July 2014.Blabbermouth In an interview with Vice, John Garcia explained the makings of the first solo album, how he's had over forty songs saved over time for a possible solo record and working with Robby Krieger: During the production of the record Garcia would begin work finding a live band. The first person he would ask to join up would be guitarist Ehren Groban (War Drum, Waxy), whom toured with Garcia when Waxy opened for Kyuss Lives! in 2011. Three years later he would be invited to participate on a song for the first solo record, eventually play more than that and ultimately join John Garcia's band. The next musician recruited would be Mike Pygmie, who also performs with You Know Who, The Agents, Melodious Pygmies, The Whizards, Brant Bjork and The Bros and Mondo Generator. Though typically a guitarist he ended up fitting the bass roles as Groban described him as "multi-talented on so many instruments and (I) thought he’d be a good fit.". Pygmie would be hired upon jamming with the band and nailing "Demon Cleaner" on the first try. Lastly would be drummer Greg Seanz (Excel, The Dwarves, You Know Who), aged 20 at the time of joining when he nailed "Green Machine" on the first take. Garcia would eventually name his backing band as The Band of Gold when he heard "Band of Gold" by Freda Payne, representing "the strong feeling and emotion" he has for songwriting. But it also encompassed the brilliance of his backing trio. In his own words he felt the band deserved the name.Desert Sun Garcia and his band would tour Australia in support of the self-titled alongside Mammoth Mammoth and Waxy, then follow with a month-long tour of Europe alongside Steak and Komatsu. The majority of the band's set would be from the album but also feature a selection of Kyuss and Slo Burn tunes. John Garcia would tour Europe again the next summer while incorporating various one-off shows in California (5 June in Palm Desert,John Garcia Facebook 8 August in Pioneertown,John Garcia Facebook and 1 November in Los Angeles.)John Garcia Facebook before announcing an acoustic European tour with Ehren Groban on second acoustic that December.John Garcia Facebook In 2016 Garcia would tour acoustic through Europe along with a handful of full band dates. The Coyote Who Spoke in Tongues and The Band of Gold (2017 - Present) On 6 October 2016 it would be announced that Garcia had a second album finished, working with engineers Steve Feldman and Robbie Waldman along with his full backing band. Notably this second record would be an acoustic album with a selection of re-recorded Kyuss songs, described by Garcia as "one of the most important of my career, difficult and challenging to do, but worth every minute of sweat!".Blabbermouth On 16 December 2016 a music video for the song "Kylie" would be released to promote the album.Blabbermouth In an interview with Metal Assault, Garcia would speak about the process in making the acoustic album: The Coyote Who Spoke In Tongues would see it's release on 27 January 2017 to largely positive reviews from the likes of Blabbermouth,Blabbermouth Angry Metal Guy,Angry Metal Guy The Obelisk,The Obelisk Metal Temple,/ Metal Temple and The Heavy ChroniclesThe Heavy Chronicles among others. Garcia would tour Unplugged through February and March in support of the album. Following an American-exclusive release show on 7 April in Palm SpringsJohn Garcia Facebook the full band would tour that Spring which included marquee appearances at DesertFest London and DesertFest Berlin. Following an Australian acoustic tour in 2018, work would begin on the next solo record. Originally Garcia would open his own studio and work with two engineers but ultimately the studio would close, causing numerous frustrations. Garcia would re-locate the recording process to Rancho de la Luna with Chris Goss producing, whom Garcia would cite as the man who saved the record.Brooklyn Vegan In an interview with Kerrang!, Garcia would detail the complications in his third solo album: The third solo album, titled John Garcia and The Band of Gold (Also cited by Garcia in his opinion as his "first true solo album") would be announced on 22 October 2018, described in some interviews as a "simple rock record with a lot of ethnic influences".The ObeliskThe Vinyl District A lyric video for "Chicken Delight" would be released on 2 November 2018 while a music video would be released for "Jim's Whiskers" on 7 December 2018. Notably The Band of Gold would play a special exclusive set at Vinyl in Las Vegas on 29 November 2018.Metal Nexus John Garcia and The Band of Gold would be released on 4 January 2019 to positive reception from the likes of The Obelisk,The Obelisk Ghost Cult Magazine,Ghost Cult Magazine Maximum Volume Music,Maximum Volume Music BlabbermouthBlabbermouth and More FuzzMore Fuzz just to name a few. After rescheduling for January and February, John Garcia and the Band of Gold would tour Europe in support of the new album. This would follow by several exclusive US festival dates such as Planet Desert Rock Weekend,John Garcia and The Band of Gold Facebook Idyllwild StrongJohn Garcia and The Band of Gold Facebook and Muddy Roots Music FestivalJohn Garcia and The Band of Gold Facebook before embarking on a string of South American dates. Initially upon the release of the Band of Gold album Garcia had stated uncertainty as to whether he'd make another album but ultimately had changed his mind and alluded to a follow-up in the works. Solo Lineup, Current Members *'John Garcia' - Vocals, Acoustic Guitar (2010 - Present) *'Ehren Groban' - Guitar, Acoustic Guitar (2014 - Present) *'Mike Pygmie' - Bass (2014 - Present) *'Greg Seanz' - Drums (2014 - Present) Solo Lineup, Past Members *'Bruno Fevery' - Guitar (2010) *'Jacques de Haard' - Bass (2010) *'Rob Snijders' - Drums (2010) *'Nick Oliveri' - Bass (2010; Select Dates) *'Brant Bjork' - Drums (2010; Select Dates) Personal Life Garcia currently resides in California. Notably John Garcia is also passionate about animals and has worked in several jobs related to animals in his lifetime, such as pet stores and no-kill shelters. Currently when not touring he often works at the Palm Springs Animal Hospital in the field of veterinary medicine with his wife. Garcia is married with two children.MetalsucksThe ObeliskKerrang Discography *'Sons of Kyuss' - Sons of Kyuss (1990, Black Highway) *'Kyuss' - Wretch (1991, Dali) *'Kyuss' - Blues for the Red Sun (1992, Dali) *'Kyuss' - Welcome To Sky Valley (1994, Elektra) *'Kyuss' - ...And The Circus Leaves Town (1995, Elektra) *'Gamma Ray' - If Only Everything (Vocals on "Born To Hula") (1996, Man's Ruin Records) *'Kyuss'/'Queens of the Stone Age' - Kyuss/Queens of The Stone Age (1997, Man's Ruin Records) *'Slo Burn' - Amusing The Amazing (1997, Malicious Vinyl) *'Slo Burn' - Slo Burn (1997, Red Ant) *'Supafuzz' - Supafuzz (Vocals on "You Don't Even Know Me", "Mr. Policeman") (1998, Gotham) *'Unida' - The Best Of Wayne-Gro / Coming Down The Mountain (Split with Dozer) (1999, MeteorCity Records) *'Unida' - Coping With The Urban Coyote (1999, Man's Ruin Records) *'Misdemeanor' ‎– Five Wheel Drive (Vocals on "Love Song") (1999, MeteorCity Records) *'Mondo Generator' - Cocaine Rodeo (Vocals on "Simple Exploding Man") (2000, Southern Lord Records) *'Orange Goblin' - Coup de Grace (Vocals on "Made of Rats", "Jesus Beater") (2002, Rise Above Records) *'Hermano' - ...Only A Suggestion (2002, Tee Pee Records) *'Gallery of Mites' - Bugs on the Bluefish (Vocals on "100 Days (Heron)") (2003, MeteorCity Records) *'Unida' - El Coyote (2003, Self-Released) *'The Crystal Method' ‎– Legion Of Boom (Vocals on "Born Too Slow") (2004, V2) *'Hermano' - Dare I Say... (2004, Suburban Records) *'Biblical Proof Of UFOs' ‎– Interstellar Messages (Vocals on "Passive Aggressive", "Two Minute Warning") (2004, OTA) *'Hermano' ‎– Live At W2 (2005, Suburban) *'Danko Jones' ‎– Sleep Is The Enemy (Vocals on "Invisible") (2006, Aquarius) *'Hermano' ‎– The Sweet And Easy Of Brief Happiness (2006, Suburban) *'Hermano' ‎– ...Into The Exam Room (2007, Suburban) *'Arsenal' ‎– Lotuk (Vocals on "Not A Man", "Diggin A Hole") (2008, Play Out!) *'Danko Jones' - Never Too Loud (Guest Vocals) (2008, Bad Taste Records) *'Karma To Burn' - Appalachian Incantation (Vocals on "Two Times") (2010, Napalm Records) *'Mondo Generator' - Hell Comes To Your Heart (Vocals on "Won't Let Go", "The Last Train") (2012, Mondo Media) *'Vista Chino' - Peace (2013, Napalm) *'John Garcia' - John Garcia (2014, Napalm) *'Moonbow' - The End of Time (Vocals on "Take It For Granted") (2014, Self-Released) *'John Garcia' - Little Marshall / Bloody Mastiff (Split with Black Mastiff) (2015, Napalm) *'Luna Sol' - Blood Moon (Vocals on "December") (2015, Cargo) *'Zun' - Burial Sunrise (Vocals on three songs) (2016, Small Stone Records) *'John Garcia' - The Coyote Who Spoke In Tongues (2017, Napalm) *'John Garcia' - John Garcia and The Band of Gold (2019, Napalm) Bands * Kyuss - Vocals (1989 - 1996) * Slo Burn - Vocals (1996 - 1997, 2017) * Unida - Vocals (1998 - 2004, 2012 - ?) * Hermano - Vocals (1998 - 2008, 2016) * Vista Chino - Vocals (2010 - 2013 (As Kyuss Lives!), 2013 - 2014) * John Garcia - Vocals (2010 (As John Garcia Plays Kyuss), 2013 - Present) List of Solo Tours *'Garcia Plays Kyuss' (As Garcia Plays Kyuss; Select dates with Brant Bjork) (2010)Last.fm/ Setlist.fmMetal Underground *'2014 Australian Tour' (With Waxy, Mammoth Mammoth) (2014)John Garcia Facebook *'Playing Past to Present - From Slo Burn To Kyuss' (With Komatsu, Steak) (2014)John Garcia Facebook *'El Gallito' (With White Miles) (2015)John Garcia Facebook *'2015 European Tour' (With Bellhound Choir) (2015)John Garcia Facebook *'2016 European Tour' (With Bellhound Choir) (2016)John Garcia Facebook *'Coyote Unplugged Tour 2017' (2017)John Garcia Facebook *'2017 European Tour' (2017)Last.fm *'2018 Australian Acoustic Tour' (2018)Desert HighwaysJohn Garcia Facebook *'John Garcia and The Band of Gold European Tour' (With Dead Quiet) (2019)The Obelisk *'August/September 2019 Shows' (2019)John Garcia and The Band of Gold Facebook *'John Garcia and The Band of Gold Australian Tour' (2020)Destroy All Lines Facebook External Links Official Links *John Garcia Facebook *John Garcia and The Band of Gold Facebook *John Garcia Bandcamp Archival Links *Archived Garcia Vs. Garcia Page *Archived Garcia Vs. Garcia Myspace *John Garcia's Favorite Albums *2014 Interview via The Rock Pit *2014 Interview via The Quietus *2018 interview via Metal Insider References Category:Artist Category:San Manuel Category:Arizona Category:USA Category:Palm Desert Category:California Category:Desert Rock Category:Stoner Rock Category:Stoner Metal Category:Kyuss Category:Vista Chino Category:Slo Burn Category:Unida Category:Hermano Category:Karma To Burn Category:Orange Goblin Category:John Garcia Category:Mondo Generator Category:Zun Category:Sam Manuel